Morris: Lions go young and Canadian at Quarterback

CFL.ca will be previewing the 2022 season, taking an in-depth look at each of the nine teams as they get set to hit the field.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2022/04/30/morris-lions-go-young-and-canadian-at-quarterback/

I feel for Rourke. He will have virtually the same O-line as the last two seasons. Without Matthews being signed, Rourke will be a moving - or most likely, a sacked - target. How will he develop without a professional line in front of him? History means nothing to the coaching staff at the Lions, whoever they are. They repeat the same mistakes that helped end Reilly’s career.

"If the BC Lions are playing football in November this year it means their gamble paid off."
A gamble indeed, I'm not usually a gambling man(worked pretty hard for my money, thank you) but I approve of this one. I'm sure a steep learning curve faces these young men. Of course the fact Rourke's a BC boy colours my opinion, hometown hero, yada yada. Not much experience between the lot of them for sure, but all want the opportunity previously denied them, that elusive & hard won starters job. This gamble is going to be very interesting to watch, one of the CFLs main storylines for the coming season.:slot_machine::game_die::slot_machine::game_die::slot_machine::game_die::slot_machine:

Yeah PP - very interesting. CDN QB’s have long been kinda the third rail of CFL football. Now we have a starting CDN & another riding pillion in BC. I think we should all keep our fingers crossed that it works out for the Lions. There’s an interesting story line for almost every team this year but this is a big one.

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I hope that the commitment to Rourke is firm & they let him ride out the rough spells that are sure to happen. I always kind of felt that Brandon Bridge, our last native QB, might have had more success if he was given a more committed opportunity to develop. It’s actually against the odds that Canada has provided so few QBs. If you look at the fact that the US population is 9 times that of Canada we should ALWAYS have a Canadian starter playing on one of our 9 teams.

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Right now they are in the same boat as when Jon Jennings was the shiny new toy in town. Yet to be proven.

That said, players can't make plays from the bench and every rep is a lesson to be built upon. I like both Rourke and O'Conner. Could be O'Conner that has the better camp but they both should play. Pressure is on Jordan Maksymic to get the best out of them.

For those concerned about the O line I believe Kent Perkins played well enough to make them forget about the Ryker Matthews experiment. We'll see what they do at center but in general should be decent enough. Running the ball once in a while helps.

Brett Boyko still unsigned if they want to try that again.

Brett Boyko apparently gave up the most QB pressures in the CFL when with the Lions & hasn’t been re-signed by the Rider since he left for his home province. There may be a reason for that.

BC could not win with Reilly, nor the last several quarterbacks. Yes, you need a good QB, but a QB cannot be expected to carry a team. You need across the board talent and good coaching. Young QBs are a long term solution to building a solid team. But, if you only have young QBs, you can expect them to get chewed up pretty quick.

And yet the Riders played him down the stretch. Guy is only 29 and hasn’t had a lot of reps. Two years as a sixth man would have helped. Played beside a rookie in Sask which did not help.

I think Cody Fajardo whined about his protection and put it on Boyko as the problem. Same as his receivers. We’ll see how he does this year with Campbell at RT. Personally I don’t see Fajardo back for 2023.

I agree and the coaching is on the line in B.C. Campbell got a free pass in the hurry to get Claybrooks out of town and was terrible last year. Not sold on McEvoy either. Do like the new owner.

Lions had a very good QB in Travis Lulay and would not have been any worse off for going with him over Reilly. Yes he had a history of injuries but was ironically healthy when they let him go. Signing him for two more should have been Wally’s last move.

Well when the only returnee on your OL is Clark & both T’s are gone due to injury (Vaughn) & retirement (Cofield) you gotta play someone. Boyko is a better G than T but a starter? He isn’t signed, so…take it for what it’s worth. As for Reilly, have to disagree. Hard to win sitting on your backside & having no hint of a run game.

A more mobile QB should help with the protection. But the league’s worst run game has to take a big step up. We’ll see if Butler is the real deal, assuming he’s the guy this year.

Still thinking Harker is going to be way ahead in the Q.B. derby coming out of camp.

Like to bet on that?

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…because they really haven’t had a running game since Harris left.

There are a ton of comments about the O Line too. Reality is, there is and was and will never be an O Line that could protect Reilly. When he extends plays past 4 Steamboats all bet are off.
You never see in any other football league where a QB holds the ball longer than that with good protection. Add no consistent running game into that and you have a QB who gets sacked a lot. your O line never gets a break. Every play they are fighting to hold off the defence for 10 seconds and getting worn out by halftime when they should be pushing off for running plays about 1/3 of the time, which is much much easier.

A balanced attack offence is what they need, and getting the ball out quickly. Run the, as Ray called it “dink and dunk” offence and get the ball out quick.

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Lions have a plan… two years out of the playoffs is two years too long. Our starting QB and yes… O Line will be just fine. Everyone is soooo worried about our shitty OL.

Yes, a running game is just what the doctor ordered. A decent ground attack will have a greater single positive impact than anything else. It will make the O-line better. It will improve the passing game, which right now is the hot topic for critics.

My question is who will be the running-back? Butler? I'm NOT A FAN... but that's just me and I would be more than happy to accept that I'm wrong if he proves me wrong. I lay much - not all - but much of the O-line problems last year on Butler's shoulders. There I said it... Yes he was a rookie... Doesn't matter. The other teams don't care he was a rookie, and the fans don't care. And I'm sure when everything was done and packed up his teammates didn't care as well.

Find a running-back please...

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Dominique Rhymes did not suffer "a season-ending ankle injury" last year. He played the last four games of the season and was our most productive receiver in the final two, catching 10 passes for 214 yards.

I know mistakes happen, but yeesh.

Hmm. Guess not. Just got released.

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